The Year the Blackbirds Died

They found the birds impaled
on white picket fences;
in fist-sized nooses, circling
like trapeze artists trying
to find the safety net;
slumped over tables, wings
hoarding nests of pills.
And all the while, cats
were waiting outside,
their scratching tremors
trying to eek out confessions
from empty mouths.

* On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorising the imprisonment of all Japanese Nationals and tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent living along the West Coast.